Dr. Jeff Holcomb, a professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Government and Justice Studies and a prominently cited author of policy studies on forfeiture, is quoted in this story that’s been making the rounds:

“Many conservative and libertarian groups are very protective of individual property rights and view civil forfeiture as a real threat to property rights, similar to imminent domain laws. Liberal groups consider forfeiture as another example of intrusive state power. Furthermore, allowing law enforcement agencies to generate their own resources from taking individual property is viewed as a threat to civilian control over police agency operations and budgets.The fact you have groups from widely different political perspectives complaining about this practice shows it’s not a purely ideological issue.”